Wednesday was an exciting day for Lakeshore Technical College with the dedication of the Kohler Center for Manufacturing Excellence and featuring Gov. Walker’s official kickoff to Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin. However, the real winners are our local communities.

According to the Department of Labor, manufacturing represents 46 percent of employment wages in Sheboygan County — the second-highest rate for any single county in the country. When you consider that 29 percent of employment wages in Manitowoc County are manufacturing wages, ensuring that our local manufacturers have a skilled workforce is an important strategic issue.

The average pay for a manufacturing worker in Wisconsin is $53,000 per year, more than $10,000 per year higher than the average pay for all Wisconsin private-sector workers. In addition, manufacturing contributes more than $53 billion to Wisconsin’s economic output. Over 16 percent of our state’s workforce is directly employed in manufacturing, outpacing the national average of 9 percent.

Local manufacturers also hire accountants, IT professionals, marketing professionals, and even chefs and health care workers. Keeping our manufacturers productive and growing is a vital local economic issue. The partnership forged between LTC, state and federal government, and the more than 30 private donors who recognized the community value in the Kohler Center for Manufacturing Excellence is an example of leadership in solving the “skills gap” that I hope others will emulate.

On Wednesday, Kohler Chief Executive Herbert V. Kohler Jr. noted the demand for machinists and electricians “is growing much faster than the supply of skilled workers,” at his company. Glen Tellock, Chairman and CEO of Manitowoc Company, said there will be “a dire need” for skilled manufacturing workers in coming years and said the state’s technical colleges are essential to the manufacturing economy.

I couldn’t agree more. Targeted state workforce training grants such as Blueprint for Prosperity grants and federal Department of Labor TAACCCT grants are helping to attract and aid people who wish to get hands-on training for the high-tech and high-demand advanced manufacturing careers offered by our local employers. LTC is working hard to find funding to establish scholarships for students to enter advanced manufacturing careers.

We are spreading the message to our high school students — and their parents — that today’s advanced manufacturing careers are rewarding, desirable, take place in clean, bright environments, pay well, and require strong math, science, analytical and communication skills.

Wednesday was a celebration of manufacturing and the end of a building project. It is also the beginning of a promise. It is our promise and responsibility to grow the investment in the Kohler Center for Manufacturing Excellence to sustain future generations of those seeking manufacturing careers, allowing our communities as a whole to prosper.

I believe this investment is wise, long-term, and will compound exponentially with each graduating class entering the manufacturing workforce. We owe it to our investors, our employers, our students, and our communities to ensure this partnership results in a vibrant local manufacturing economy long after the memory of Wednesday’s ceremony fades.

Dr. Michael Lanser has served as president of Lakeshore Technical College since 2003. Prior to that he was LTC’s Vice President for Administration. He has led the expansion of college programs in high-demand career fields, placing an emphasis on community collaboration and strengthened industry partnerships.